American naval escort of British convoys carrying [[Lend-Lease]] aid lead to a shooting war with Germany. On October 17, 1941, the U.S. destroyer Kearney was torpedoed; two weeks later, the destroyer Rueben James was blown to pieces. On November 10, an American escort of 11 vessels picked up a convoy of six vessels including America's three largest ocean liners with 20,000 British troops and guarded them from Halifax to India and Singapore. Many of the activities of the American Navy in the summer of 1941 were not known at all to the American public. In September, Roosevelt sought to repeal the [[Neutrality Act]] forbidding the arming of merchant vessels which was done on October 17. Two weeks later, all the essential points | American naval escort of British convoys carrying [[Lend-Lease]] aid lead to a shooting war with Germany. On October 17, 1941, the U.S. destroyer Kearney was torpedoed; two weeks later, the destroyer Rueben James was blown to pieces. On November 10, an American escort of 11 vessels picked up a convoy of six vessels including America's three largest ocean liners with 20,000 British troops and guarded them from Halifax to India and Singapore. Many of the activities of the American Navy in the summer of 1941 were not known at all to the American public. In September, Roosevelt sought to repeal the [[Neutrality Act]] forbidding the arming of merchant vessels which was done on October 17. Two weeks later, all the essential points |